


Cast Some Light (it'll be alright)

by catrasredemption (dimensionhoppingrose)



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora is a loving girlfriend, Brief appearance by Glimmer but nothing worth tagging, Canon Compliant, Catra Has Issues (She-Ra), Catra is soft and Adora loves her, F/F, Melog is the real MVP as always, Post-Canon, Post-Season 5, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Some angst, These nerds are gay and nerds, a lot of fluff, mentions of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27185086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/catrasredemption
Summary: “It’s kind of stupid—”“It’s not,” Adora assured her. “Show me. Please?”There was still a moment of hesitation before Catra finally opened it. The first page was a surprisingly intricate drawing of Melog, done completely in black pen, but somehow their mane still seemed to shimmer. Adora stared at it for a long moment, mouth hanging open.“Did… Did you draw this?”“Yeah.” Catra was back to picking at the blanket. “Everyone kept saying I need a hobby that isn’t just punching things in the gym, and I… I dunno, this was the only other thing I was ever good at.”* * * * * * * * * *Catra (re)discovers a hobby. Adora is fully supportive.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 105
Kudos: 999





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for artist Catra. Let her have soft and good things.
> 
> Melog is forever the MVP.

It started with small doodles on the edges of paper briefings.

Adora heard the pen scratching against paper and turned to gently scold Catra — she was _supposed_ to be paying attention, this was important — only to stop when she saw the little drawing Catra was drawing in the corner of the paper. Shadow Weaver’s mask. A very lifelike — almost disturbingly so — depiction. _Since when did Catra draw?_ Adora knew she had enjoyed it when they were young (the side of her bunk had fallen victim to Catra’s inability to restrain herself, resulting in two ridiculous pictures of their faces), but Shadow Weaver had put an end to it when the innocent enough hobby had morphed into vandalism as Catra grew from beaten down child to angry teenager. No one had said anything about Catra’s broken fingers, and Adora never saw her adorable drawings again.

That, she thought now, might have been the first real crack, the first tangible thing Shadow Weaver took from Catra — something she was good at, something she _enjoyed_ , something that made her happy. And Shadow Weaver had put an end to it with five broken fingers (and two that Catra needed to re-break and set right when she realized they were healing crooked).

“Okay,” Glimmer wrapped up what she was saying, and Catra jumped. She quickly scribbled out the mask and folded the briefing up, handing it down to Melog, who took it in their mouth and disappeared. “Any questions?” Everyone shook their heads. “Great! Catra, do you mind dealing with the clones again?” Catra groaned. “I know, I know, they’re just getting kind of restless, and Wrong Hordak can’t get a handle on it.”

“Why can’t _Right_ Hordak deal with it?” Catra grumbled. “He ran the Horde for years — and never mind, I just answered my own question. _Fine_. Fright Zone?”

“Yes, please.” Glimmer beamed. “You’re my favorite today.”

“Rude,” Adora scoffed. Bow just looked hurt. Glimmer ignored them both.

“Everyone’s dismissed.”

Catra sighed, standing. The Horde Prime clones didn’t necessarily listen to her _more_ than they did Wrong Hordak, but she had more leadership experience and knew how to make them listen _faster_ , which was important when dealing with the cloned army of a dead space dictator. She still hated it.

Catra spent most of the day at the Fright Zone while Adora was helping down in one of the smaller villages (as herself, because She-Ra wasn’t always necessary, and more work got done if the residents weren’t fawning over her). Adora got home first, getting some sandwiches and drinks and retreating up to their room. Catra was never in the mood to deal with people after dealing with the clones.

The pattern held true when Catra came home long after sunset, Melog behind her with their ears pressed against their head. She looked absolutely exhausted and ready to break. Adora silently held out the plate with two sandwiches; Catra made a noise of thanks as she took one and flopped down on the bed, taking a bite. Adora waited until the sandwich was gone before speaking.

“Rough day?”

“Half of them still call me little sister.” Ouch. Catra rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow. “I know Wrong Hordak is trying, but I really need him to learn faster so I never have to see any of them again.”

Adora reached out, gently scritching Catra’s ears. That got her a purr. “Do we have to see other people tonight? Or can we just…?”

“Stay here all night and cuddle? Absolutely.” Adora had already told Bow and Glimmer not to bother them unless the actual world was ending — and even then, they had to try at least three different ways to stop it before they bothered Catra and Adora.

Catra looked up, smiling weakly. “Thanks.”

Adora settled in, wrapping her arms around Catra’s waist and pulling her in. Catra somehow reached up and managed to find the band keeping Adora’s ponytail in place, carelessly snapping it with the flick of one claw. “I’m going to run out of hair ties, you know.”

“Just transform. She-Ra always heals your ponytail.”

It was a struggle not to burst out laughing — a struggle Adora ultimately lost, because Catra was right. She-Ra had priorities.

They didn’t talk about Catra’s doodling that night. Adora had wanted to ask, but Catra was in a bad mood, and she didn’t need prying Adora. She needed gentle, cuddling Adora, with a side of scritches.

It slipped Adora’s mind after that, lost in between all the other things they had going on in their lives — rebuilding Etheria and their relationship, the setbacks, the successes, the long nights of silence and the somehow too short nights of falling asleep in each other’s arms. Every now and again she would catch Catra at the desk, pen moving absentmindedly over something she was supposed to be reading, but the moments of peace were such a rare and beautiful sight that Adora didn’t want to interrupt them.

Adora was at that desk herself one day, going through some of the _far too many_ files they had taken from the Fright Zone over a month earlier (the task of going through everything had fallen to Adora and Catra, as they were the only two who would be able to understand everything). Adora had learned a lot of things while going through these files — mainly that Shadow Weaver had terrible handwriting, and Scorpia’s was impeccable. That was impressive.

She was currently going through a file of misconduct reports when she found yet another one on Catra — she had a lot of them, but in her defense, many were from Shadow Weaver and some of them were over the most trivial thing, including an absolutely insane one about Catra trying to push Adora down the stairs (they had been racing, and Catra was actually trying to push Adora back _up_ the stairs to keep her from getting ahead).

This was not one of those. Adora scanned the paper, noting the date — they would’ve been around thirteen at that time — saw that it was signed and initialed by Shadow Weaver, and finally she zeroed in on the the incident summary.

 _Catra was found in a maintenance corridor on the fifth floor, drawing on the walls. She had apparently been drawing for a while, if the extensiveness of it is any indication. Immediate and long-term punishment issued_.

Adora winced, looking at long-term punishment first — cleaning the walls, no surprise — before looking at the category for immediate punishment. _Physical Discipline_ was checked off.

“Are you _still_ going through that crap?” Catra teased as she let herself into the suite. Adora looked up, giving her a soft smile.

“It’s kind of fun. Did you know Kyle locked himself in a bathroom stall once?”

“That definitely doesn’t surprise me.”

Catra crossed the room, leaning in to kiss Adora’s head — then froze when she saw the report Adora had on the desk.

 _Damn it_. “Sorry,” Adora said quickly, trying to sweep it away, but Catra was faster. She grabbed the paper, eyes scanning the page as she stepped back. She flexed her fingers unconsciously as she read. “Sorry,” Adora said again, quietly.

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like there aren’t a million of these things with my name on them.” Catra crumpled the paper up, tossing it into the trash can, and flopped down on the bed. Adora didn’t push — she simply turned back to her desk, looking at the next report — Force Captain Octavia had found two cadets making out in a storage closet. “You know my fingers never really worked right after that.”

Adora looked back at Catra, blinking. “What?”

“After she broke them.” Catra was still flexing her fingers, staring at her hand. “I mean they’re still fine for punching and stuff, but I can’t write as well as I could before that, and they still hurt a lot. I asked Glimmer’s aunt about it once, she said something about injuries having long-lasting effects, like chronic pain.”

Adora hadn’t known that. How had she not known that? “Does it happen a lot?”

“Kind of? Depends on what I’m doing and what the weather is like. It hurts a _lot_ when it rains or it’s cold out. Visiting Frosta kinda sucks sometimes.”

“You never told me about that.”

Catra shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. The world doesn’t stop because my fingers hurt.”

“Of course it matters.” Adora stood, going to join Catra on the bed and very gently taking her hand, splaying the fingers out one by one. “If it hurts you, it matters.”

“There’s nothing I can really do about it, though. I can take things for the pain and ride it out, but that’s about it.”

“It still _matters_.” Adora raised Catra’s hand to her lips, kissing her knuckles.

“Very smooth,” Catra teased. Adora laughed, shoving her shoulder.

“I’m _trying_ to be sincere, you know.”

“I know.”

Catra shifted to rest her head in Adora’s lap, headbutting the blonde lightly in the stomach — a not so subtle sign that she wanted head scritches. Her hair had grown out, creating a respectable floof that was fun to nuzzle and play with, but not quite at the same levels as before Prime cut it. Adora worked her fingers through it, finding the base of Catra’s ears and scratching gently. Catra purred, closing her eyes.

They sat in silence for a bit, and Adora _thought_ Catra had fallen asleep when she said, “Can I show you something?”

“Of course.”

Catra raised her head to look at Melog, who was in the window nook. The alien cat mewled, disappeared, and reappeared a moment later with a notebook in their mouth. Catra took it and sat up, suddenly very interested in picking at the covers.

“It’s kind of stupid—”

“It’s not,” Adora assured her. “Show me. Please?”

There was still a moment of hesitation before Catra finally opened it. The first page was a surprisingly intricate drawing of Melog, done completely in black pen, but somehow their mane still seemed to shimmer. Adora stared at it for a long moment, mouth hanging open.

“Did… Did you draw this?”

“Yeah.” Catra was back to picking at the blanket. “Everyone kept saying I need a hobby that isn’t just punching things in the gym, and I… I dunno, this was the only other thing I was ever good at.”

Adora reached out, and when Catra didn’t stop her, she turned the page. The next was a picture of Bow, playing his lute, while Glimmer rested in his lap. The palace was drawn in the background. Catra was blushing slightly now. “I kind of just… draw things I can see or remember, and we’d spent the day with them, so they were on my mind, and…”

“You’ve _got_ to show them.”

“What?” Catra blushed. “Absolutely not! They’ll laugh.”

“They won’t! Bow might want to frame it.”

“I’m _not_ showing them.”

Adora sighed. They could revisit this, she decided, flipping to the next page. If she was honest, she was surprised it had taken three pages to get to a picture of her. But the wait was worth it. It was her, sleeping in their bed with Melog resting their head on her hip. Catra had gotten every detail, right down to the smallest scar on Adora’s peaceful face and her errant strands of hair. The window was in the background, sky outside filled with stars and the moon.

“ _Catra_ …”

She was definitely blushing now. “I know it’s kind of—”

“Don’t say it’s stupid.” Adora’s voice was firm enough to catch Catra by surprise. “It’s not. It’s… gorgeous. These are _so_ good. How long have you been practicing?”

Catra shrugged, eyes drifting to the window. “I dunno. Since the end of the war? Sometimes I couldn’t sleep, so I’d sit at the desk and draw stupid things. Or I’d get bored during meetings. And the drawings started getting bigger until Melog dropped this on my face. I got the hint.”

Bless that cat, Adora thought fondly, smiling at Melog. She went to turn the page again, and was surprised when Catra grabbed her wrist. “What—”

Her ears were pressed flat against her head as she spoke. “Sometimes I draw my nightmares. Just to get them out of my head, you know?”

 _Oh._ Adora nodded, and Catra pulled away, letting her turn the page. It was Shadow Weaver, hovering menacingly, looking larger than life — probably how she had appeared to Catra when she was little. Sparks of magic were drawn between her fingers, shadows outlining the page.

“She gets more drawings than she deserves,” Catra muttered bitterly. Adora turned the page, not wanting to focus on it. The next was of the Heart Blossom, done in sharp detail that would probably make Perfuma cry in pure delight. After that was a picture of Adora, Bow, and Glimmer, sleeping in pile on the floor of Glimmer’s and Bow’s room.

“Where are you?” Adora asked, looking up.

“I’m _drawing_ the picture, dummy. I can’t be in it.”

“Why not? You’re drawing most of this from memory, right? And you know better than anyone else what you look like.”

“You might know better than me. I know you watch me sleep sometimes.”

Adora blushed as Catra smirked. “N-Not the point!”

“I don’t want to draw myself. It’s weird.”

The next picture was of Mermista and Sea Hawk dancing at a recent party. It was, without a doubt, the softest Adora had _ever_ seen Mermista’s expression. Catra had even drawn the shock of red across her face. Sea Hawk, of course, looked like he was holding the world in his hands. After that was Perfuma and Scorpia, sitting in front of a tree and talking. Then Melog and Swift Wind taking a nap together in the sun.

The one after that was confusing for a moment. All Adora could make out was lines and circles, encased in a wavering border. Then she saw Horde Prime sketched very faintly in the background. No, not in the background, she corrected herself. Standing _over_ the picture, at the edge of it. Looking down.

Adora didn’t need to ask what it was. She flipped to the next one, immediately recognizing it — it was the view from their window, looking out over the Whispering Woods. Catra was still blushing faintly, staring at the bed. Adora leaned forward to kiss her, then rested their foreheads together.

“These are amazing. _You_ are amazing. I bet we could get you some better stuff to draw with if—”

“No, I’m fine with what I’ve got,” Catra said. “Seriously, it’s not a big deal.”

It was, but Adora knew better than to push it. “Thank you for showing me.” She knew it was still hard — would probably _always_ be hard — for Catra to show any side of her that was vulnerable. But the smile she got in return was absolutely worth the fight Adora sometimes had to put up to be allowed to stay within Catra’s barriers.

* * *

Their anniversary was a few months later. It was _not_ the day the war had ended — admitting they loved each other and finding their way toward a proper relationship was a long road. But it was worth celebrating. And Adora knew exactly what she wanted to do.

“Hey, Glimmer?”

“Hm?” Glimmer looked up from whatever she was reading. “Hey Adora. What’s up?”

Adora slipped into the room, bouncing slightly on her heels. “So I um… I know this person—”

“Just say Catra.”

“It’s not Catra.”

“ _Sure_.” Glimmer rolled her eyes, smiling. “Okay, this person.”

“Right, this person. She — _They_ really like to draw.”

Glimmer blinked a few times. “Okay, I really believe it’s not Catra now.”

“Good, because it’s not. So they really like drawing, but they don’t really… have the stuff to do it? Like, they have a sketchbook that Mel — _they_ stole from somewhere—”

“You are _terrible_ at this.”

Adora huffed. “ _Fine_. Catra’s really into drawing, she has been since we were kids, but Shadow Weaver kind of… cut her off. You know, no room for anything that isn’t productive. She picked it up again not long after the war, though, and all she has is a sketchbook and a pen but she’s really… _really_ good, and it makes her happy. And I mean she is _really_ good. I keep trying to get her to show you guys, but you know what she’s like, and she hides her sketchbook and only Melog knows where it is. But it’s one of the only things from our childhood that she really has good memories of, and Shadow Weaver still managed to ruin it, so… I want her to have good things now. Or at least something to draw with besides a pen.”

They were absurdly cute, and it wasn’t fair, Glimmer thought with a small smile. “I’m sure we can find something.”

Adora lit up. “I owe you.”

“I’ll put it on your tab.”

* * *

Catra woke up alone the morning of their anniversary.

It was a hazard of sometimes not joining Adora on diplomatic trips. She got to sleep in, but she woke up snuggling Melog instead of her partner. It was for the best this time, Catra thought as she woke to rain tapping against the window, and her fingers ached. Great.

After a lot of contemplation and thinking, Catra had fully swallowed her dignity and asked Bow for help with making something for Adora. They had settled on double-fudge brownies, which involved going to see Bow’s dads because it was a family recipe that Lance wouldn’t allow anyone else to know. It was written down in a hidden book that only Bow could look at. Several hours with Bow’s dads wasn’t a horrible price to pay for something that would Adora would die for, especially if she was going to be gone for awhile.. And, as much as Catra would never admit it, she enjoyed spending time with the history nerds. She enjoyed learning.

That was a secret _she_ would take to the grave.

Melog mewled, climbing over Catra and hopping down from the bed. “Could’ve just climbed out from Adora’s side…” she muttered as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her voice drifted off when she saw a wrapped package sitting on the bed with a note attached to it.

 _Dork_ , Catra thought fondly as she reached out, detaching the note and unwrapping it.

_Catra—_

_Don’t be mad. I love you._

Short and sweet. Catra wondered how long Adora had spent on it. She read the seven words over and over, eyebrows nearly disappearing into her hairline. _What did she do_ …

She reached out, carefully opening the gift. The first thing she saw was a roll of leather. She eyed it for a moment before picking it up and unrolling it. It was a set of regular and colored pencils, a pencil sharpener, and several erasers. Catra stared for a moment, brushing her fingers over the pencils before looking at the other part of the present. A solid-covered sketchbook with a cat paw stamped into the cover. Catra rolled her eyes, opening it to the first page. The paper was thick and sturdy and everything Catra would have once dreamed of, when she still allowed herself to have dreams.

There was another note folded between the cover and the first page. She unfolded it, smiling.

 _I love you. You deserve to have all the good things we never got when we were kids and not be embarrassed or ashamed. I’ll spend the rest of our lives telling you that if I have to_.

Tears filled Catra’s eyes; she wiped them away quickly, resting her forehead against her knees. Such a dork.

“Okay.” She sat up, flexing her fingers. Time for an hour of soaking her hand until the pain went down enough for her to use it.

* * *

The trip took _far_ longer than Adora was happy with. _All day_. She had _wanted_ to spend at least a few hours with Catra, to make sure she wasn’t mad about the pencils and sketchbook.

But no, it was _well_ after midnight when Adora returned, yawning widely. Catra was already asleep, Melog draped over her. Usually Adora had to fight Melog for her spot, she thought, amused, as she approached, the bed. But her spot was already taken by a container, and with a note on top of it, and the sketchbook underneath. Adora picked up the note first, unfolding it.

_I love you too, you absolute nerd. If you wake me up, I’ll kill you. Look at the first page._

Adora bounced slightly, grabbing the sketchbook and flipping it open. The first page was a a fully colored picture of — her heart jumped — herself, Catra, Bow, and Glimmer at what she assumed was a sleepover, if the clothes were anything to go by. Glimmer and Bow were wrestling each other for the last jelly tart. Catra was lying in Adora’s lap, arms around her waist, while Adora petted her and laughed at their friends.

 _Time to risk death again_.

She set the the still unknown container aside and pounced, landing on Catra and giggling delight. Catra yelped, snapping awake; Melog darted off the bed.

“ _Adora_!”

Adora snuggled her face into Catra’s neck, smiling so wide that it hurt her face. “I love you,” she whispered. Catra huffed, but there was no real annoyance in the noise.

“I love you too, dork. Did you look in the container?”

“I don’t have to. You gave me everything I want.”

“There’s chocolate.”

A long moment of silence followed before Adora rolled off Catra and reached for the container, opening it. “Are these Lance’s double-fudge brownies?”

“Yup. Bow ended up doing all the work so I could spend the day drawing, but he said it was worth it, then started talking in that really high-pitched voice, so I tuned him out.”

“Did you _show Bow_ what you did?”

“Of course not!” Catra blushed, ducking her head. “But maybe… I dunno, I’ll show him and Sparkles some time. _Maybe_.”

Brownies could wait until morning, Adora decided, setting the container back down and tackling Catra again. Now was the time for completely self-indulgent snuggling and love.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra learns to share

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally got around to writing a small sequel to this. It's adorable. Be prepared.

“What’re you working on?”

Catra immediately snapped the sketchbook shut, saying, “Nothing.” Adora sighed. Catra still had trouble being open sometimes. It was a work in progress.

“Come on, you know I won’t laugh.”

“No, it’s…” Catra blushed, ducking her head. “It’s a surprise for Glimmer and Bow, okay?”

Adora’s expression lit up. “You’re going to show them something?!” Her voice cracked with excitement. It had been over a year since Adora had discovered Catra’s love for drawing and gifted her with a sketchbook that had _long_ since been filled. Glimmer had replaced it for Catra’s birthday. Despite all of Adora’s encouragement, she _still_ hadn’t shared her art with anyone besides her girlfriend and Melog.

“No! Maybe. I dunno.” Catra ran a hand through her hair. “It’s… It’s for their wedding. I’m sure they’re going to have like, a million professional artists because it’s the _queen’s_ wedding, and it’s probably dumb, but…”

Her voice drifted off as Adora sat on the bed with her, cupping her face in her hands and kissing her gently. “It’s wonderful,” she assured her. “And they will _love_ it because it’s from you, and it’s something _you_ are taking the time to do for them. And then they might cry because you’re finally sharing it with them.”

“Fuck, I didn’t even think about that. Too late to get them something else?”

“Yes. You’re committed to this now.” Adora grinned. “Are you seriously not going to let me see?”

“ _No_ , it’s for them — hey!” Catra squealed as Adora tackled her, wrestling her to try and get the sketchbook. “Get _off_ me, crazy woman! Melog!”

The alien cat appeared, took the sketchbook in their mouth, and disappeared. Adora still didn’t know where Catra hid it, but that might have been for the best. Only the finest thread of self control ever stopped her from telling everyone she met how talented her partner was.

“You should draw something for everyone’s weddings.”

“I didn’t realize _everyone_ was getting married.”

“I mean, they’re not. Yet.” But Sea Hawk had been planning a proposal for roughly five years, and Scorpia had already accidentally asked Perfuma to marry her twice, so it was only a matter of time. “Oh, Spinnerella and Netossa would feel left out, though, so you have to do something for them—”

“I’m not drawing something for every couple that gets hitched,” Catra informed Adora flatly. “Do you know what that would do to my hand?”

Adora took the hand in question, gently kissing Catra’s knuckles. Shadow Weaver was dead, but she’d left her mark on the girls she had raised in so many ways. One of Catra’s many marks was chronic pain in the fiver fingers Shadow Weaver had broken when she caught Catra vandalizing a hallway.

“You know if you give it to them at the reception, they’re going to show _everyone_ , right?”

“Which is _why_ they’re not getting it until they get back from their honeymoon.” Catra had apparently thought all this through.

“Glimmer’s going to try and hang it in the throne room.”

“She’ll have to settle for their bedroom.”

“There is absolutely _no_ way you’re going to give them a beautiful piece of art and expect them not to show it off.”

Catra groaned. “I _know_. I’ve thought about that. Maybe this is a bad idea.”

“It’s not,” Adora assured her. “It’s okay to let other people see this side of you. I _know_ you know that.”

She did. Two years of constant reinforcement had helped a lot. But it was still hard to think about sometimes. And even harder to put into practice.

She was working on it, though. And Adora was proud of her.

* * *

Adora didn’t get to see the gift for Bow and Glimmer. But Catra _did_ let her watch as she started sketching her next drawing, after they saw Bow and Glimmer off and retreated to their room for the night.

“I can’t believe you’re not going to tell me what you’re drawing.”

“Figure it out, genius.”

Adora huffed, puffing her cheeks out, chin resting on Catra’s shoulder. The initial outline wasn’t enough to go by, but Catra was quick.

“Is that _us_?”

Catra grinned. “Yup. No offense to Sparkles and Arrow Boy, but I’m pretty sure we were the most attractive couple there.”

It was indeed them, in the matching suits they’d worn to the wedding — Adora’s white with golden accent, Catra’s in shades of red, with Adora’s Bright Moon pin pinned to her jacket. Not that there was any color yet. But Adora already knew it was going to be beautiful.

“Other people need to start getting married so we have more excuses to dress like that.”

“Maybe _we_ could get married,” Catra suggested with a smirk. Adora gasped in mock shock.

“You want to marry me? That’s _so_ embarrassing for you.”

“Shut up, I don’t want to marry you.” Catra rolled her eyes. “Besides, wouldn’t it be humiliating to be the less attractive person at your own wedding?”

Adora shoved her, laughing. “I hate you.”

“Uh huh.” Catra grinned wickedly. “That’s why I walk around wearing your Bright Moon pin.”

“No, _that_ is so everyone knows you’re mine.”

“Oh, I’m _yours_ , huh?” Catra looked up, raising an eyebrow. “Prove it and ask me to marry you.”

“Not a chance. _I_ gave you the pin, _you_ get to do the proposing.”

“How does _that_ make sense? You should finish what you started!”

“Nope. You ask.”

“Screw that.”

They laughed, settling in so Catra could continue drawing in peace. At least for another hour until her fingers started to hurt. She grimaced, setting the pencil aside and flexing her fingers. “That’s that, then.”

She held the sketchbook out for Melog, who took it and disappeared. Adora reached passed her to get the small jar of cream out of her bedside table.

“Gimme.”

“It’s fine—”

Adora raised an eyebrow, stopping Catra’s denial. “We’ve talked about being in pain when you don’t have to be, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” Catra sighed, holding out her hand. Adora smiled, scooping out a bit of cream and began gently massaging Catra’s aching fingers. There was nothing they could do to stop the pain completely, not for a lack of trying. But a mix of magical healing creams and a gentle massage seemed to be the best combination for helping it. Like Adora needed an excuse to take care of her partner.

Catra smiled, a deep, satisfied purr building in her chest as her eyes fluttered shut. “Guess I’ll keep you,” she murmured sleepily.

“Is that a proposal?”

“Hell no.”

* * *

It was almost a month before the happy couple returned. The perks of being monarchs in a time of peace.

“We _missed_ you!” Glimmer said happily as she caught Adora and Catra in a tight hug. Bow was right behind her, nearly squishing them all. Catra groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, wholesome reunion and all that…” Glimmer slapped her arm. “Hey, be nice to me, or you don’t get your present.”

“Present?”

They pulled away to look at Catra, surprised. Adora was practically bouncing, dying to tell her friends what Catra was about to give them. She knew they, better than anyone, would understand the significance of what Catra was sharing.

“Yes, present. But if you’re going to be mean to me, I guess I could keep it…”

Glimmer grabbed them all and teleported them to Adora’s and Catra’s room. Catra groaned, leaning on Adora’s shoulder for a minute.

“ _Warning_ , Glimmer.”

“It’s not like it _helps_.”

Adora rubbed Catra’s pack until she felt well enough to straighten up and finally retrieved the wrapped present. “Don’t like, make a big deal out of it or anything, okay? It’s not much.”

It was _everything_ , but Adora kept her mouth shut, letting Glimmer and Bow unwrap the picture. Their eyes widened when they saw the framed drawing, mouths hanging open in twin looks of awe and amazement. Catra hunched up slightly, grasping her left arm with her right hand.

“Like I said, it’s not—”

“It’s _gorgeous_ ,” Bow breathed. “You _drew_ this?”

“There are _professional artists_ who aren’t this good,” Glimmer added. Adora’s impatience finally got the better of her; she hurried forward to finally get a look at the drawing Catra had put three months of work and effort into.

Plenty of professional portraits and murals of Glimmer existed — some with Bow, some without. They were all great. But there was something _professionals_ couldn’t catch that Catra could. Warmth. Life. Light.

It was Bow and Glimmer, sitting in one of the large windows in Darla’s control room. They were laughing, hands loosely tangled together, stars setting a beautiful backdrop in the window. It was as if Catra had taken the image directly out of her memory and put it on the paper. Adora swore she could hear their laughter.

“I _knew_ you guys were going to be weird about it,” Catra groaned, running a hand through her hair. “It’s really not a big deal—”

Glimmer stepped forward, pulling Catra into a tight hug and effectively shutting her up. “It’s incredible,” the queen said seriously as she pulled away, meeting Catra’s gaze. “ _You_ are incredible. You are so ridiculously talented, and I hate you a little for it, but that’s beside the point. That—” She pointed to the framed drawing Bow was still holding, “is beautiful. And I know you’re not going to let me put it anywhere but in our bedroom, and I respect that, but I really, really need you to acknowledge that you are actually the best artist I’ve ever met.”

Catra blinked a few times, stunned. Adora had seen that look before — the first time someone in Salineas had recognized her as the hero who helped stop Horde Prime instead of the villain who had brought their kingdom to its knees. The time Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle had hugged her, relieved that she wasn’t dead under a pile of rubble like they had suspected since Horde Prime had invaded. When Micah had firmly assured her that he didn’t hold her responsible for what had happened to Angella. When Scorpia, during a tour of her restored kingdom, had shown them a memorial someone had made outside the palace, with the names of everyone who had fought in the war, and Catra saw her name on it. When Perfuma told her that the abuse she’d gone through wasn’t her fault, and she had never deserved it. When Adora said _I love you too_.

It was the look of someone who knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they were being given something they didn’t deserve.

The expression fell away after a moment, though, turning into a small smile as she nodded. “Thanks, Sparkles.”

Glimmer hugged her again, and Bow immediately joined this time. “So… _can_ we hang it up somewhere public?”

“Absolutely not,” Catra said at once. “ _But_ … if you ask really nicely, maybe I’ll do something for the throne room.”

It was another year before she made good on that promise, to celebrate rescuing Angella from the portal. To say the woman was bewildered to find a warlord-turned-artist living in her castle was an understatement. But enough had changed that Catra wasn’t even the biggest surprise.

“You realize you have to do something for everyone now, right?” Adora teased one night.

“Yeah, yeah.” Catra waved her off. “Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler alert: she does
> 
> https://catrasredemption.tumblr.com/post/636560375358341120/i-finally-got-around-to-writing-a-sequel-to-cast

**Author's Note:**

> Fact: Writers survive on a diet of reader reviews


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